


Five Times Shere Khan, Against His Better Judgment, Asked Scrooge McDuck for Help

by appending_fic



Series: Pentaflores [2]
Category: DuckTales (Cartoon 2017), Jungle Cubs (Cartoon), Talespin (Cartoon)
Genre: 5 Things, Adoption, Family, Friendship, M/M, Marriage, Rescue Missions, Rivalry, Weddings, peers to friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-16 07:00:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29449671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/appending_fic/pseuds/appending_fic
Summary: Scrooge and Shere Khan aren't friends. And yet for some reason, Shere Khan keeps calling Scrooge for favors.
Relationships: Bagheera/Shere Khan (Jungle Book), Scrooge McDuck & Shere Khan
Series: Pentaflores [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2163165
Comments: 21
Kudos: 34





	1. For His Friend

"Mr. McDuck?" 

Scrooge looked up from his work to his intercom, thankful for the interruption. "Yes?"

"There's a phone call for you. A Mr.-"

"Thank you," Scrooge replied, picking up the phone. "Hello?"

"McDuck," a gruff voice came over the line - a _familiar_ one, if in an unfamiliar tone, absent the acid Scrooge was used to from prior conversations.

"Khan," Scrooge replied. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"This isn't a social call, McDuck," Shere Khan said, to the accompaniment of wood splintering.

"I don't believe you and I have _ever_ shared a social call," Scrooge retorted. He let that response hang between them before prompting, "so what _is_ the reason for this-"

"My...associate Baloo is in trouble," Shere Khan said, slowly. "He vanished in your corner of the world on a delivery run."

"Of the _world_?" Scrooge asked. "Duckburg and Cape Suzette are in the same _state_ -"

"Vanished on a delivery run through _Duckburg_ , then!" Shere Khan snarled; Scrooge yanked the phone away from his ear in case Shere Khan continued yelling, but the phone was quiet, and when Scrooge returned the phone to his ear, he could hear muffled voices - the growl of Shere Khan's, and a rumbling, calmer one in the background. It was something of a surprise that _Bagheera_ was the one keeping his cool - not because Shere Khan was notoriously cool-headed (his tantrums in business meetings with people he thought he could frighten were legendary), but because as far as Scrooge was aware, Baloo was _Bagheera's_ friend.

"Shere Khan? Are you alright?"

"I'm...I shouldn't have snapped at you. We're a little on edge over here, as you might imagine."

"Of course," Scrooge agreed. He might find it stressful if Bentina or Duckworth got into trouble - but then again, _he'd_ just swoop to the rescue-

Ah.

"What sort of trouble is Baloo in?" Scrooge asked.

"The sort of trouble a shipping company can get into when they are wanting for opportunities and take a risk," Shere Khan replied. "There was some question regarding the ownership of some cargo and now a pack of _dogs_ are holding a - associate of mine hostage. Demands have been made that Miss Cunningham cannot begin to meet."

"Well of _course_ you're not paying any ransom," Scrooge said, kicking his feet back onto his desk and leaning back as he toyed with the phone cord. "You just whip up a rescue party and sweep him out from under those dogs' noses before they know what's happening. I do things like that all the time."

"...I am aware," Shere Khan said slowly. "And that _is_ what I was attempting to do."

"By what? Calling _me_?"

Shere Khan's silence was answer enough - because Scrooge remembered how reluctant Shere Khan was to have even tangential involvement with Scrooge's adventures.

"I called to...ask you if you would...help me with this problem. Baloo is a friend of mine, and I would prefer if he were returned in roughly as many pieces as he left."

"You could have a whole flight of planes out here in two hours and descend upon them like the wrath of Yora," Scrooge retorted. The stories about Shere Khan's not-quite army left Scrooge certain Shere Khan could handle the kidnappers...who sounded suspiciously like the Beagle Boys, and thus more vulnerable to an armada assault than sky pirates.

"I could also use a machete to win a sword fight, if pressed," Shere Khan sniped. "I pride myself on turning to the tool most suited to my problems, and in the absence of the bear in question, the animal most suited to dive into a hostage situation to rescue a loved one from a pack of ill-bred crooks with poor judgment is Scrooge McDuck."

It had the shape of a compliment, except that Shere Khan was obviously frantic and not thinking clearly, and therefore he didn't _intend_ to compliment Scrooge.

Regardless, Shere Khan had used the words 'friend' and 'loved one' in less than thirty seconds, which meant if Scrooge didn't help, there was a possibility Shere Khan might hand over half his fortune to the first person who _would_.

"Well, don't worry, lad; I'll take care of it. I've tangled with Ma Beagle and her mangy pups more times than I can count, and I've _always_ come out on top."

And he _did_ , although as expected, there were half a dozen or so unexpected developments, include the fact that halfway through his _own_ rescue, Scrooge ran into Baloo's boy Kit two-thirds of the way through _his_ rescue - and it was a miracle the boy hadn't gotten caught by the Beagle Boys before that, or Scrooge might have accidentally left him behind and have to come back once _Baloo_ realized what had happened.

"Not that I don't appreciate the help," Baloo said cheerily at the hospital, "but I wasn't aware we were good enough friends for dramatic rescues."

"We aren't, lad. To be honest, I only remembered who you were because Bagheera writes me letters and you make more than an occasional appearance. That and the boy." Scrooge nodded at Kit, who'd refused to be separated from Baloo ("Papa Bear", he'd called the man, settling the matter of their relationship, if not the somewhat irrelevant matter of their genetics) since they'd arrived at the hospital.

"Ah." Baloo nodded, not frowning, so Scrooge guessed he wasn't offended at not rating high in Scrooge McDuck's priorities. "So...why-"

"You don't know?" Scrooge retorted. "Shere Khan called me up and asked me to come after you."

Baloo perked up from his slouch, one ear flipping up in interest. "You mean Baggy called you up and told you Shere Khan-"

"I mean _Shere Khan_ called me," Scrooge replied. "Mind, Bagheera was there too - trying to keep Khan from flying off the handle, I think."

"Off the handle?" Baloo asked, his other ear perking up. "Shere Khan? Really?"

"He shouted at me," Scrooge added, and Baloo's expression eased out into a lazy smile.

"Ah, that's just Khanny's way."

"I'm aware," Scrooge replied, and quiet settled between them for a moment, before Baloo pulled himself up, wiggling a little in place, smile settling further on his face.

"Well!" he declared. "Shere Khan himself called in the cavalry for little old me. I mean, I _say_ little-"

"You're friends, aren't you?" Scrooge interjected, stopping Baloo up short. "That's what friends do for each other...I've been given to understand."

" _Baggy_ and I are friends," Baloo said. "Shere Khan's always been...complicated. But he's always been the sort who only shows his true colors when he's backed into a corner." He shook his head, still smiling. "Wow. Shere Khan asked you to save me."

" _I_ was here to save you, too!" Kit protested.

"Well, I knew _you_ were coming, little britches," Baloo replied, reaching out to tug the young bear up onto the bed next to him. "It was a real comfort, knowing you'd swing in and starting taking cheap shots at my captors any minute. But figuring Shere Khan _likes_ me is just the sort of surprise to cap off a day like this." He looked to Scrooge, raising one eyebrow. "Any idea when I'm getting out of this joint?"

"When the doctor clears you, and not a moment before," Scrooge replied. "Threats were made about what happened if I returned you in more pieces than you left in."


	2. For His Grandmother

"Phone for you, sir," Duckworth murmured, handing Scrooge the handset.

"Thank you," Scrooge murmured. "Who am I speaking to?" he asked.

"McDuck," Shere Khan drawled.

"No, _I'm_ McDuck," Scrooge replied. "You're either Shere Khan or a very good impersonator."

"As entertaining as it would be to listen to you puzzle out which one-"

"Uncle Scrooge!" The door to Scrooge's study slammed open to admit two adolescent ducks, one dressed in artful grunge and the other in clothing damaged as a natural consequence of its wearer's lifestyle. Della yanked herself up to lean over Scrooge's desk. "Who are you talking to?"

"Probably one of his billionaire friends, plotting to keep the working man down," Donald grumbled.

"What?" Della glared back at Donald. "That's dumb - Uncle Scrooge doesn't _have_ billionaire friends."

"If you are otherwise occupied," Shere Khan murmured, as Donald and Della engaged in a high-energy argument at the foot of Scrooge's desk, "I could leave you to your own devices."

"No, I'm not busy - it's just the wee ones-"

"Children? As far as I recall, you were a bachelor, and if Goldie told you they're your children, it's a ruse to steal your fortune."

"My sister's," Scrooge explained. "They're staying with me for...a while." Now wasn't the time to get into the whole story, especially with an animal Scrooge wasn't certain he considered a friend.

"It sounds like you have your hands full," Shere Khan replied, voice suddenly formal - not that Shere Khan didn't always sound a little stiff, but his voice was distant, and the mystery-solving part of Scrooge's brain pounced on the enigma.

"Not _that_ busy - why are you calling?"

"Because I was going to ask you to do me a favor, before I learned you're wrangling...children," Shere Khan murmured.

"They're _teenagers_ , not rampaging beasts," Scrooge retorted. "Although the effect can at times be similar. Come on - tell me this favor." Shere Khan didn't reply immediately. "Bless my _bagpipes_ , don't tell me you lost Baloo again."

"No," Shere Khan said. There was a beat of silence, and then, "It's my grandmother."

"Someone kidnapped your grandmother?" Scrooge asked, ignoring the way Della waved her arm wildly at him, a silent indication that if Scrooge needed backup for a grandmother-rescuing adventure, his niece Della was the perfect choice.

And Shere Khan _laughed_ \- a rough, deep sound, but unrestrained - buoyant. "If someone took it into their head to kidnap Granny Khan, I would pity them if they hadn't already forced me to hate them."

"She sounds like a formidable woman."

"...Yes," Shere Khan concluded, reminding Scrooge that Shere Khan had asked for a favor.

"But we were discussing a favor I could do relating to your grandmother," Scrooge said.

"Yes. Ah. My grandmother had scheduled a visit to Cape Suzette to assess the family holdings, but there was some sort of emergency and they landed in Duckburg. She refuses to submit to another commercial flight, and no one here can get to her until tomorrow-"

"You want me to fly her to Cape Suzette?"

"Oh. Oh - no. I wouldn't ask anyone to shuttle my grandmother around unless I were paying them. Or Bagheera, I suppose; I should begin acclimatizing him to the family. No, I don't want you to - she was supposed to be here in Cape Suzette with me by now, but instead she'll be at the bar at whichever hotel she managed to accommodate her on short notice, terrorizing the bartenders-"

"Shere Khan," Scrooge said, cutting off the flow of words which might have been the prelude to a panic attack, "would you like me to show your grandmother around Duckburg?"

Della slumped in place, her enthusiasm apparently sapped by the promise of escorting a woman her uncle's age on a tour of her hometown. 

"If it wouldn't be an inconvenience," Shere Khan allowed. "I don't intend to suggest I'm afraid my grandmother will perish of boredom or be beset by brigands without your company. Simply that she deserves half-decent company when she's already being inconvenienced by what passes for a commercial airline in this day and age." There was a growl in his voice, and another moment of quiet. "I should buy that whole company up and fire whoever's in charge of flight logistics," he mused.

"Well, talk it over with Bagheera before you make any major purchases," Scrooge allowed. "I'll be happy to keep her company. Ah…" He lowered his voice. "Should I make a point of keeping the wee ones away from her?"

"What would make you ask that?" Shere Khan demanded, affronted. "Granny practically raised _me_ , when I wasn't trailing after gangs of delinquents."

Well, it explained why Shere Khan was so dedicated to seeing her comfortable, when he had once provided Scrooge a thirty-minute tirade on a cousin who he'd insisted Scrooge should do his best to ruin.

"Alright, I didn't mean to offend. Do you know what hotel she's staying at, or should I criss-cross the city listening for the sound of an elderly tiger complaining about poorly-brewed tea?"

Yashica Khan was not arguing with a server over tea, but _was_ lecturing a bartender about gin.

"Mrs. Khan?" Scrooge stood at what he was fairly certain was considered a respectful distance, Della and Donald (the latter's T-shirt switched out for something Scrooge was fairly certain was a band and not a demonic cult) behind him.

"Mrs. - ha!" The tiger turned on her stool - a slim, elderly creature with a long graying muzzle, large, steady hands, and sharp copper eyes with the glint of a _sharpie_. "It's _Mistress_ Khan - or 'Rakshasa', if you've decided we are to be enemies and think I will be laid low by name-calling." She looked Scrooge up and down before flashing a fang at him. "You're not the boy who's stolen my Khanny's heart, are you?"

"Hmp, Uncle Scrooge doesn't do feelings," Donald scoffed, and Mistress Khan's gaze snapped to him, and a moment later to his sister.

"If you intended that thought for only your own benefit, I should inform you that your mouth was moving," Mistress Khan snapped. "Otherwise, you should speak up." She clambered gracefully to the bar floor and waved her hands toward her. "Come on," she said. "I don't bite children - so you've got a few years left before I stop blunting my claws with you."

Scrooge stepped back to push the kids forward - Della was staring at Mistress Khan with wide-eyed amazement, while Donald had the look of a duck settling his sulk in for the long haul.

...Scrooge decided to take it as a win, as Donald refused to like most people on first encountering them (possibly some sort of pre-emptive defense).

And things were _easier_ , in the end, with Mistress Khan ("Call me Granny," she'd said to the kids), having Della and Donald there. She was happy to entertain Della with stories of a lifetime wrangling a family with dynastic aspirations, and engage with Donald's snipes and grumbling - sharp, but without any sort of threat in it.

She wasn't doting in the way Scrooge had seen in other grandmothers - saccharin as if they believed smiling enough could make anyone like you. But the kids, it seemed, liked her, and he felt - almost jealous, that Shere Khan's grandmother won them over easier than Scrooge had.

He kept his mouth shut, most of the time, but she insisted they see her off the next morning, and before she boarded her plane (Shere Khan apparently having decided to give Bagheera an opportunity to get used to the family, given Bagheera carrying her luggage onto the plane), she stepped up close to Scrooge. She shook his hand (he hadn't known why he expected a hug - she clearly wasn't the type) and leaned in.

"The boy said you don't 'do' feelings - but buckle down and _use_ them, and you'll do fine," she whispered. "And I'd suggest you _do so_. They need you - _both of them_."

It left Scrooge shaken, but...he'd felt the first stirrings of that concern in the wake of their first adventure. He cared, but kept himself distant so when Hortense came back…

He wasn't quite certain of everything they'd said to Mistress Khan, but he didn't doubt she knew for certain that the kids didn't need a guardian - waiting for his time with them to be over. So he resolved to - try a little harder.


	3. For His Rival

Scrooge knew his niece and nephew well enough by now that when Shere Khan requested an in-person meeting Scrooge refused to give into their pleading to let them stay home on their own.

(The argument that Duckworth and Beakley would be there was hardly persuasive, as Scrooge now had enough practice with the job of looking out for the kids to know he wasn't paying anyone who worked for him enough to do it for him.)

It made the discovery of Baloo and Kit at the docks an unexpected boon. Kit was arguing with someone who kept trying to direct questions at Baloo. They were standing in the shadow of the Sea Duck, which looked a little worse for wear (admittedly, it _always_ looked a little worse for wear, but this was more of a little worse for wear than normal).

"Ah! Baloo," Scrooge called out as he disembarked. "Mr. Cloudkicker," he added, nodding at Kit, who spared him a glance. "Any trouble over here?"

"Naw, we're fine - just working on a bit of maintenance for the old Sea Duck," Baloo replied.

"Ba _loo_ ," Kit muttered, while the stork they were talking to gave him a brief smile.

"As I said, I'm busy, so if you decide you're going to not waste my time, you know where to find me," they said, before slipping away.

"Drat," Baloo grumbled.

"It was a long shot anyway," Kit said, patting Baloo's hip. 

"Yeah…" Baloo looked around, perking up when he saw Donald and Della. "Hold the phone - who are these little tots?"

"Ah! Sorry. Yes, this is my nephew Donald, and my niece Della."

"Well, hello, kids," Baloo said, holding his hands out to shake. "I'm Baloo, and this here's my boy Kit."

"Are the two of you busy?" Scrooge asked. "Only this is our first trip out here all together, and the kids might appreciate someone to show them around."

"Yeah, foist us off on the first person you see," Donald grumbled, while Della hopped in place, obviously excited.

"Well, obviously we're the first people he saw, but that's sort of a coin-ka-dink, little duckling," Baloo crooned. "Your uncle and I go a few years back - me and Shere Khan saved his bacon from some nasty characters in an old temple buried under the hills."

"Really?" Della chirped.

"Absolutely," Baloo replied, clapping his hand on her shoulder. "Come on, Little Britches - let's show these kids what Cape Suzette's got to offer. Take our minds off of things, alright?"

Scrooge took his leave, then, making his way to Khan Tower, through the gaggle of secretaries and guards to Shere Khan's office itself - the massive room shrouded in darkness, the long walk from the elevator to the desk. Scrooge crossed the office with no hesitation, both because he'd faced far worse in his life than Shere Khan frowning at him, but also because he was invited. Shere Khan was studying correspondence until Scrooge reached the other side of his desk.

"McDuck."

"Khan," Scrooge allowed.

"Come along," Shere Khan said as he rose from his seat, heading to the rightmost wall. "I've had my people prepare lunch."

Scrooge didn't speak up as Shere Khan pushed a door open in the wall and led him to a smaller room adjacent to the office, with high windows and a door through which quiet servers brought a meal of shrimp cocktail, a cold soup, and delicate sandwiches.

"A long way to call me for a business lunch," Scrooge said as he polished off his first course.

"Well, it is a delicate matter," Shere Khan replied, tapping his fork idly against the side of his plate.

It only occurred to Scrooge then that Bagheera was nowhere to be seen. There was no animal alive privy to more of Shere Khan's secrets than his partner, even if they weren't joined at the hip.

"What sort of matter, Khan? You aren't out of money, are you?"

"Of course not," Shere Khan scoffed, before frowning. "Rebecca Cunningham is."

"Good news?" Scrooge asked. Cunningham's business, Higher for Hire, was technically a competitor to Khan Industries (or its shipping division, anyway), and he was vaguely aware they had been at odds in the past.

"Of course not. I have enough money, Scrooge. _More_ than enough. It's something of a conundrum, lately. Regardless, I'm past the days of spitefully driving my competitors out of business and engineering commodity shortages for profit. Not, I'm afraid, that Miss Cunningham would believe it."

"Hm?" Scrooge had been distracted, slightly, by the declaration that there was such a thing as too much money, but trying to get Shere Khan to the point was always a trial anyway. "What about Cunningham?"

"You and I have enough money that we can suffer a little bad luck without going bankrupt. Miss Cunningham - doesn't," Shere Khan replied. "I am familiar enough with her assets to know she neither has the means to recover nor the credit to acquire sufficient assistance."

He sighed, a slight slump to his shoulders. "And we are on poor enough terms that there is no offer I could make her that she would accept. She would not trust a gift, would refuse to believe any loan was made in good faith, and she has made it abundantly clear there is nothing in the world she wants _less_ than to be in business with me. So."

Scrooge let the quiet hang between them for several minutes before asking, "So you want me to offer Miss Cunningham a loan."

"I don't know what I want you to do," Shere Khan replied, claws now tapping against the side of his bowl. "Miss Cunningham's problem is a problem for Baloo, so a friend of mine is hurting. And because Baloo is my _partner's_ friend, as well, Bagheera is upset as well. And in the face of all this pain, in the failure of a - colleague, through no poor decision, no - fault - of her own, I find myself...powerless."

Shere Khan's voice twisted a little at the end, nowhere close to tears, but pained, certainly.

"So this isn't so much a request for a favor as a-"

"I don't think there's another animal I could talk about this with," Shere Khan concluded. You're the only one - disconnected enough, and enough like me, to...understand."

Scrooge nodded, uncertain how to reply, as there was nothing he felt he could say - nothing he'd experienced that he could relate to Shere Khan's problem.

"You know," Scrooge said, as they finished lunch, "I think we may have to admit to being friends."

"What?" Shere Khan demanded, ears flicking up - alert, on edge.

"You called me to fly all the way out here just to listen to you talk about your feelings," Scrooge retorted. "You wouldn't trust a man you didn't think of as a friend to do that, and I wouldn't do it for someone who wasn't a friend of mine, so."

"...Thank you, Scrooge," Shere Khan murmured.

"Anything," Scrooge replied.

He met Baloo and the twins at Higher for Hire - or, rather, Scrooge was swamped by a wave of water when the Sea Duck landed next to the establishment, expelling Donald (looking vaguely ill) and, a minute or so later, Kit, Baloo, and Della. A sneaking suspicion crossed Scrooge's mind as Della barrelled toward him, confirmed when she opened her mouth.

"Uncle Scrooge! Baloo let me fly his plane and he said I'm a natural-"

"A natural _disaster_ ," Donald grumbled.

"So since he's a real pilot and thinks I can do it maybe I could take lessons when we get back to Duckburg."

"Absolutely not," Scrooge snapped, less prepared for the dramatic fall of Della's face in response as he'd thought...before a notion occurred to him.

"There isn't a pilot in that whole city I'd trust to teach you to do what you'd need to keep the McDucks in the air," he added. "But it'll be summer in a few weeks. Is there anything I could pay you to teach her in your spare time, Baloo?"

"Oh, you don't have to - ow! What was that for?"

Scrooge bit back a smile at Kit, who was standing suspiciously close to Baloo's feet, and smiled when he saw Scrooge looking. "Well, the planes belong to Miss Cunningham, so Baloo would need to talk to her about what it'd cost. It'll be more than she charges for just tours."

"Well, of course - building up a skill takes more than looking at the scenery," Scrooge agreed. "Is Cunningham busy, or could I drop in to talk about our options?"

"Oh, I'm sure she'd be happy to take a meeting with _you_ ," Kit said, hurrying ahead of Scrooge to escort him into the office proper.

Shere Khan might have been powerless, but he was merely sharp - Scrooge was _sharper than the sharpies_. With his foot in the door, he had the leverage to apply just a little pressure.

The money he'd pay to compensate Cunningham for Baloo teaching Della, for putting her up for the whole summer so Scrooge 'wouldn't risk getting ripped off by the skinflints who run the hotels here', and to maintain the Sea Duck to 'make sure my niece isn't flying a pile of bolts that falls apart when she tries to land' would keep Higher for Hire going for a few months, and forged a business relationship that would make further inquiries natural, and a loan, or investment, not unreasonable.

Shere Khan might have been powerless, but he had a friend in Scrooge McDuck - for whom _nothing_ was impossible.


	4. For Himself, Really

"Scrooge!" Shere Khan shouted when Scrooge accepted the phone from Duckworth. "How are you?"

"We're fine up here, Shere Khan. What-" There was noise on the other side of the line, and Scrooge waited a moment. "Where are you?"

"My good friend Louie's!" Shere Khan replied. "He's making - what did you call these, Lou? _Mojitos_. Very refreshing."

Shere Khan wasn't slurring, but he was loose, his words coming without the careful precision Scrooge was used to.

"Are you _drunk_?"

"That - is an excellent question. Am I drunk, my dear?"

Scrooge blinked at the phone, startled, until Bagheera's voice came across, close enough that he and Shere Khan must have been leaning on each other. "Absolutely smashed, darling."

"Yes, I am - _smashed_ ," Shere Khan repeated dutifully.

" _Why_ are you smashed? What's going on over there?"

"We," Shere Khan enunciated carefully, "are _celebrating_. I have bought drinks for the entire bar. I...might have bought the bar."

"It's _Louie's_ ," Bagheera said gently. "You can't afford it."

It was novel to hear Shere Khan unguarded, laughing at a comment someone made in the background, voice animated, warm (although the latter was likely the close proximity of Bagheera).

"Not to put a damper on your spirits, but why are you calling?"

"Damper? You aren't - dampening anything. Because I, my friend, am getting married."

"To Bagheera?"

"If not, it would make the proposal he made an hour ago to me incredibly awkward," Bagheera interjected.

"Well, congratulations!" There was no question why Scrooge had received the call - he and Shere Khan were, indisputably, friends, and that was the sort of thing you told friends.

"We're getting married in June!" Shere Khan shouted into the phone.

"The third," Bagheera added. "And obviously, we'd love to have you."

"And those children of yours," Shere Khan said.

"They're...more grown up, now. They're _Kit's_ age."

"Mm, shame. I almost halfway got along with them, you know," Shere Khan mused. "Kit liked the girl, obviously, and he's got good taste. And the boy told me I'm going to be first in line when the guillotines come. He also told me about something called 'grunge', which I keep meaning to check up on."

"Well, that's. I'll make sure they know."

"Darling," Bagheera murmured.

"Ah. Yes, there was a _reason_ for this call. I need something from you, Scrooge."

"Someone to pay your bar tab?"

"I need a best man, and I suspect this is one of those 'dive into a hostage situation to rescue a loved one from a pack of ill-bred crooks with poor judgment' situations, where Scrooge McDuck is the best man for the job."

"...Ah," Scrooge replied, voice distant. It was, admittedly, a logical progression from their determination that they were friends, but an unexpected one.

"You're under no obligation, of course," Bagheera said hurriedly.

"No, I'd be honored. Happy to do it," Scrooge replied. "You can have the best, if you want."

"I've already got it," Shere Khan said, in a tone Scrooge would have called dreamy in any other creature.

The wedding was fantastic, of course - the guest list a patchwork of those who would consider themselves elite and those few who _were_ elite by virtue of holding the acclaim of Shere Khan or Bagheera. Scrooge met what proved to be the remainder of Shere Khan's childhood friends - an elephant who was a retired colonel, and a python who used his prosthetics as a disturbing accent to his career as a magician.

Shere Khan was unnervingly cheery all evening, and never seemed to be found more than a few steps from Bagheera's side. Scrooge heard musings that they were witnessing a new Shere Khan, but Scrooge was certain Shere Khan was merely allowing himself to emote today, to make clear this was an event to celebrate, that the man he'd married did make him happy.

Scrooge was hopeful he hadn't butchered his toast, or at least, Shere Khan would forgive him if he had, and was, at the moment, settled next to the gift table, where he'd found Goldie (whom Shere Khan had _invited_ , as if the mere prospect of a rich man's wedding couldn't draw her out for a chance to steal the silverware alone) half an hour ago. She'd dragged Scrooge into a waltz, a tango, and a jitterbug, before dropping him for a duke who was probably being robbed blind just about now.

"Good evening, Mr. McDuck."

"Ach, you can call me Scrooge, Rebecca, I've told you," Scrooge replied, waving his hand vaguely at the bear as she sat next to him.

"Scrooge, then." She was quiet for a few moments after that, watching the dance floor, where Bagheera was dancing with Baloo, _his_ best man.

"Your young man seems to be enjoying himself," Scrooge said.

"Yes, well," she allowed. "Baloo is more of a - party animal than I am. And you should have heard the hints he's been dropping ever since the engagement."

"He wants you to make an honest bear of him?"

"There isn't an animal alive who could do _that_ ," Rebecca sniped, but she was smiling. "Still - it would make some things easier. The kids-"

"Kit's grown, more or less," Scrooge replied. "And that means you've got what, five years of childhood out of Molly?" Scrooge mused, drawn partly from his realization regarding his _own_ charges.

"Still," Rebecca replied. "We've always been a little informal - some formality might be nice."

"And you love him," Scrooge prodded, because - Baloo was a friend, in a way.

"And I love him," Rebecca said, rolling his eyes.

"Good. That's...good." Silence settled between them again.

"I've wondered for a while how Shere Khan got you to save Higher for Hire," Rebecca said, so unexpectedly Scrooge choked on his drink.

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, don't play dumb," Rebecca said, gaze fixed on Scrooge. "You made it seem natural, but it was an _awfully_ convenient coincidence."

"Well," Scrooge murmured, straightening his tie. "Della made it easier when she was going on about learning to fly-"

"Oh, _that_ , I know is genuine," Rebecca said. "But the rest of it - I couldn't figure it out. I worried, Scrooge."

"Well, the answer isn't exactly sinister," Scrooge said. "He asked."

"Yeah," Rebecca said quietly. "I don't think I'll ever get used to thinking of Shere Khan as liking people, but the evidence is overwhelming at this point: he _does_ have a heart."

"Yes," Scrooge agreed, as Shere Khan intercepted Bagheera and Baloo to retrieve his husband for a circuit of the dance floor themselves. "I think it's rather clear he does."


	5. His Family

"Sir?" It was Saturday, and Scrooge had been ready to settle into his morning with a good book when Duckworth had made an appearance.

"Yes?"

"Mr. Khan here to see you."

"Ah. Well, go ahead - show him in. I'll meet him in the South Drawing Room."

Scrooge had a few moments, on settling into the most comfortable chair in the South Drawing Room, to wonder about the purpose of the visit. As he'd noted once, Duckburg and Cape Suzette occupied the same state, so an unexpected social call wasn't unreasonable. But Shere Khan rarely dropped by without what _he_ felt was a good reason.

Duckworth knocked at the entrance. "Shere Khan, sir."

"Thank you, Duckworth. You can go."

Scrooge grinned at Shere Khan, who stood, oddly tense, in the doorway. "Go on, sit," he said, waving at the few chairs and sofas available, before he noticed what about the picture was odd.

"...Are you aware you have a small child attached to your leg?"

"It had not escaped my notice," Shere Khan replied, voice dry.

And indeed, there was a child hanging onto the leg of Shere Khan's pants. At first glance, Scrooge thought they were a panther, until they shifted, giving him a better look at their face - fluffier, and rounder, like a tiger. And looking at them like that, Scrooge could see the fur in between their stripes was a dark brown.

Shere Khan, for his part, waved a hand toward Scrooge. "Samaksh, this is Scrooge McDuck. Scrooge, this is Samaksh, my son."

"Your...of course." Scrooge crouched, and then sank to one knee, holding a hand out to the boy. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Sam."

And some of the hesitation left the small tiger as he straightened, stepping around Shere Khan's leg, and said, "My name is Samaksh, Mr. McDuck." He glanced up at Shere Khan, biting his lip, before giving Scrooge a sharp nod.

"Ah - my apologies, lad. Samaksh, then." The boy nodded before stepping back, not behind Shere Khan's leg, but there in case he wanted to, while Scrooge rose out of his crouch. The boy was dressed in a suit, nearly identical to Shere Khan's except in scale (and a bowtie instead of a standard one), and once he was done correcting Scrooge, watched Shere Khan with an intense gaze.

(The expression looked so much like what Scrooge would imagine Shere Khan would have as a cub that Scrooge would believe it if Shere Khan were to claim the boy were _actually_ his flesh and blood.)

"What brings you - and Samaksh - to Duckburg?"

"Bagheera and Nanda are trying out Junior Woodchucks this weekend," Shere Khan replied.

"And Nanda is…"

"Our daughter. She's eleven."

"Okay, you know what you're doing here, right?" Scrooge blurted out at last. Samaksh edged slightly behind Shere Khan, taking ahold of the fabric of his pants again. "Dripping information out like that instead of just explaining yourself properly - like you're _trying_ to drive me mad. When did you get a child? When did you get child _ren_?"

"Recently," Shere Khan replied. "Just about-"

"Two months," Samaksh said.

"Yes, we took them home for good two months ago," Shere Khan said. "Samaksh and Nanda." His hand drifted to Samaksh's shoulder, and the boy squared his shoulders and stood taller at the touch. 

"Well sit down, then - I'm not going to make you stand here when you've come to keep yourself occupied while your husband feeds your daughter to mosquitoes."

Shere Khan chuckled and took a seat in a chair opposite Scrooge. Samaksh hovered for a moment before Shere Khan nudged him to the loveseat nearby. Samaksh clambered up and sat, a mimicry of Shere Khan's proper stance, on the side closest to Shere Khan.

"So, how? Why? The last time I saw you, you had no children. Now - two?"

"One for me, one for him," Shere Khan replied, in that infuriatingly deadpan way he had which made it impossible to know if he was joking.

"Come _on_."

And Shere Khan laughed, shaking his head. "It's your fault. You and those hellions of yours - you made me think _I_ could handle it. Bagheera and I - we have a home, and discussed that we had the sort of - place in our lives, where we could...care for children. And after a lot of talking, we met Samaksh and Nanda, and here we are."

It wasn't all of it, Scrooge was certain. This wasn't a visit for Shere Khan to show off his son, or to tell Scrooge he'd inspired Shere Khan to have children. But he let the small talk flow and watched the boy, who didn't talk, whose expression kept up that intense stare. It took a few minutes for an opportunity to have a serious talk, thanks to Donald, who poked his head into the drawing room in passing.

" _There_ you are! I was going to go get lunch moving. Is Shere Khan and...uh." He stared at Samaksh. "I don't think I've met the kid."

"Samaksh, this is Donald Duck - he's Mr. McDuck's nephew."

Samaksh nodded silently.

"Hey, would you like a tour of the place, lad?" Scrooge asked of Samaksh. "Donald knows this place like the back of his hand, and would be happy to show you around."

"...Lunch?" Donald repeated, looking a little forlorn at the realization he didn't have a way out of this.

"It's a good idea," Shere Khan mused as he stood. "Mr. McDuck's a friend, so you may be out here later, and it'd be good to know your way around the place." He carefully helped Samaksh off the couch and nudged him toward Donald. "You will, of course, take care of him, or the consequences will be dire," he warned Donald.

"What do you think is going to happen to him in my own house?" Scrooge demanded.

"Well, you know all those trophies Della was supposed to sort for the Other Vault?" Donald asked. "She only got halfway through before her date."

"Then stay out of the garage, probably. You'll be fine."

Shere Khan stared after the boy until he and Donald had both stepped out the door, and then slumped back into his chair.

"More work than you thought it would be, eh?" Scrooge prodded.

"To a degree, yes," Shere Khan replied. "But I'm more concerned that the boy doesn't seem to like me."

Scrooge didn't _intend_ to snicker, but it _was_ a little funny, even as Shere Khan glared at him, ears up, tense.

"I'm glad my distress is at least amusing to you," he grumbled.

"Why are you dressing him in suits?" Scrooge asked instead of replying, earning a little easing of Shere Khan's tension as he shrugged.

"Obviously he needed something for formal occasions. He subsequently hasn't taken to anything else we purchased for him."

"It's probably because he's never seen _you_ out of a suit," Scrooge mused.

"What?"

"I can't be certain - I've only known him for what, a quarter-hour, but I'd bet that boy _adores_ you, Shere Khan."

"What do you-" Shere Khan's ears slumped, muzzle slack as he dug for some response. "He barely talks, even to me-"

"Well, he put you between me and him, for _starters_. Does he hide behind Bagheera?"

"Everyone agrees that between the two of us, _I_ look like the dangerous one," Shere Khan replied.

"He didn't take his eyes off of you except to introduce himself to _me_ ," Scrooge added, grinning as some of Khan's certainty melted away, leaving more of the slackness in Shere Khan's posture. "And you should have seen him when you put a hand on his shoulder - like he'd been given the world."

"I - _do_ give them physical affection," Shere Khan retorted, voice sharp (defensive). "I am aware it's necessary for their well-being-"

"It's easy to underestimate how much they need," Scrooge said, gentle, "when we've gotten used to less."

"Ah…" Shere Khan faltered, settled back fully in his seat. After a few moments, he roused a little, eyeing Scrooge with a narrow gaze. "Do you really think he likes me?"

"He dresses like you, has clearly practiced mimicking that glare of yours well enough I thought he was your flesh-and-blood son there for a minute, and I'd bet my Number One Dime he doesn't talk because _you_ talk so precisely and he can't pull that off yet."

"I…" Shere Khan sat back, a little less bonelessly. "You aren't playing with me, Scrooge, are you?"

"Look, I'm not an expert, but I've had Hortense's kids for more than ten years and - you aren't fouling this up. Two months - you're still feeling each other out. But he's got all the classic signs of wanting to be _just like you_."

"Hm," Shere Khan replied. Scrooge let him be for a few minutes, at which point Donald returned, fumbling with a tray of sandwiches on which a set of glasses also teetered.

"We decided to make lunch _before_ the tour," Donald explained as he stepped through the door. "Your boy's pretty handy with a knife, Shere Khan."

"Well, it's to be expected - he has a set of them strapped to the ends of his hands. Samaksh?"

"I'm here," Samaksh said, voice careful, as he followed Donald, carrying a pitcher of lemonade in both hands.

"Ah - let me take that; it looks heavy." Shere Khan rose and plucked the pitcher from his son's hands. After a moment, he reached down and took Samaksh's hand. On setting the pitcher next to the tray Donald nearly dropped on the coffee table, Shere Khan slid onto the sofa nearest Scrooge and, on seeing Samaksh pause, bent down to lift him into a seat next to him. The child had probably never seen Shere Khan beam, but he smiled - the small one Shere Khan made in public when he was pleased and didn't want people to know. And Shere Khan, now watching the boy, smiled almost identically.

He took the opportunity of handing the boy a sandwich to pull him a little closer, and Scrooge felt - some of the warmth he did with his _own_ family. The Khans, he guessed, were going to be fine.


End file.
